Chelsea Green Publishing Co

How do some plants live for thousands of years? Which adaptations and evolutionary strategies allow them to thrive in some of the harshest places on the planet for so long—and so well? Renowned plantsman, author, and longtime botanical garden designer Christopher Woods takes readers on a popular science exploration of twenty-three of the world’s most amazing species, seeking answers to these questions by explaining their incredible survival mechanisms. Woods emphasizes how human cultures have interacted with plants over time and what we may, critically, be able to learn from them about sustainability in extreme climates. Some species will be familiar to readers, while some are outright surprising—such as the aptly named Welwitschia mirabilis, which lives happily in the Namib Desert for up to two thousand years, although many of those years receive zero precipitation. With over two hundred color images and lively, accessible text, In Botanical Time highlights fascinating facts about each charismatic plant, encouraging conservation for these species and leading us toward larger lessons about the rapidity with which humans have caused—and are causing—species to adapt. "Woods' compassion for these trees, shrubs, and herbaceous wonders shines on every page."—AHS American Gardener Magazine

In the years following her role as the lead author of the international bestseller, Limits to Growth the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems , is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institutes Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life. Some of the biggest problems facing the worldwar, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradationare essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking. While readers will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner. In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.